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Hacktivism

Hacktivism (a portmanteau of hack and activism) is the use of computers and computer networks as a means of protest to promote political ends. The term was first coined in 1996 by a member of the Cult of the Dead Cow hacker collective named Omega. If hacking as "illegally breaking into computers" is assumed, then hacktivism could be defined as "the use of legal and/or illegal digital tools in pursuit of political ends". These tools include web site defacements, redirects, denial-of-service attacks, information theft, web site parodies, virtual sit-ins, typosquatting and virtual sabotage. If hacking as "clever computer usage/programming" is assumed, then hacktivism could be understood as the writing of code to promote political ideology: promoting expressive politics, free speech, human rights, and information ethics through software development. Acts of hacktivism are carried out in the belief that proper use of code will be able to produce similar results to those produced by regular...

An admitted member of the online hacking group Anonymous received the maximum sentence Friday from a judge in U.S. federal court in New York City. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska sentenced 28-year-old Jeremy Hammond of Chicago to 10 years in priso...

Swedish authorities on Monday raided the host company of many popular torrent and sports-streaming sites, knocking them offline. In response, an Anonymous member vowed revenge against the Swedish government. PRQ.se, which was founded by two co-founde...

Twitter handles associated with Anonymous are suggesting that "Operation Blackout," a rumored attempt to shut down the Internet scheduled for March 31, was never an officially sanctioned plan. Operation Blackout calls for a highly-focused Distributed...

Hacktivism has hit its tipping point. The year 2011 had the most hacktivism-related crimes in history. Hacktivists use digital tools to breach security systems to protest or take a stand on political issues. The New Age hacker is motivated by the pur...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been under fire from world leaders to step down this week. He's also under fire from hacktivist group Anonymous, who leaked hundreds of his office's emails on Monday. While Anonymous is infamous for its hacking kn...

Update: Anonymous claims on Twitter that the video is fake, and they do not plan to take down Facebook. Anonymous is planning to target Facebook in an attack Jan. 28 -- at least that's what a video uploaded to YouTube Monday is claiming in the name o...

Hacking for social good is more than just a hacktivist reaction to injustice. Many developers and designers are taking a proactive approach to affecting social change by making web apps that aim to improve individual lives and whole communities, too....

Saad Khan is a hacktivist and Partner at CMEA Capital. He’s a seed and early stage investor in companies like Blekko, Pixazza, Jobvite, and Evolution Robotics. He blogs at SaadWired and conversates on Twitter @saadventures. If you’re a hacktivist, re...

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